At a fracking well site, a granular-containing fluid is pumped through a well bore and to targeted regions to create “fractures” within the underlying hydrocarbon formations. The granular material used in the mining fluid is referred to as a proppant. In many cases, the proppant is a specialized type of sand (natural, man-made or modified), referred to generally as frac sand.
Frac sand must be transported to the well site, which is often a significant distance away from the source of the fracking sand. Presently, the frac sand is trucked to the well site and discharged from the storage truck into a relatively small storage area at the well site. Since large volumes of sand and water must be continuously provided to the well site by trucks, traffic issues arise, which can interrupt the supply of either the water or frac sand. If the supply of either the water or frac sand is disturbed, such a disruption can result in the inefficient use of the well drilling equipment. If well drilling equipment is shut down because of the lack of supply of either sand or water, the cost to the well drilling company can be significant.
Presently, T-belt conveyors are located at the well site to transport the fracking sand from a storage truck to a blending location. The T-belt conveyors already exist at the well site and continued use of the T-belt conveyor is desired. In addition to the existing T-belt conveyors already in use at a well site, there is normally a trailer mounted series of storage bins mounted onto a conveyor belt which discharges onto the T-belts.